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DEMONIACA: The Pixelart of Adult-themed Indie Horror Gaming

APOLOGIES, DEAR READERS (AND TO MNEMOSYNE GAMES). WITH MY REGULAR MACHINE IN FOR REPAIR, I AM LEFT TO POST THIS WITH MY TABLET AND IT’S NOT COMPLETELY UP TO THE TASK. I WILL REFORMAT THIS A LITTLE BETTER NEXT WEEK WITH THE RETURN OF MY MACHINE.

Game explanation: “DEMONIACA is a pixel art indie game developed by Mnemosyne Games and set in a dark, gothic environment. It is a pixel art action platformer that combines Castlevania’s aesthetic with classic Fighting Game combat mechanics, like “the King of Fighters”. In fact it is the first prototype of Kofvania.”

Story: “Striving to build a new Tower of Babel, a clan of ancestral demons razes a village to the ground. They sacrifice all its inhabitants, but one girl survives. Gutted and apparently dead, she wakes up upon piles of smoking corpses, surrounded by pools of blood. Her own blood has been contaminated with that of the demons, giving her inhuman powers. She sews her mangled body back together and decides to avenge her brothers. Setting off on her revenge journey, she joins a world made of death, blood and violence in a quest to discover her true nature.”

Taken from the Kickstarter page of DEMONIACA, the above is a tantalizing preface to a gore-laced sexploitation indie game with roots in not one, but two, different beloved classic titles.

For just €13 (early bird pricing), crowdfunders can invest in a game that allows enjoyment of both a “standard” and “uncensored” version, complete with sensual, bouncing pixelated breasts, jagged, wince-worthy battle scars, and more.

Set firmly in a dark gothic horror setting, there is plenty of gore and blood to satisfy splatterpunk fans as well. This game is offering quite a bit, to quite a few different genre lovers. In addition to the PC/Mac/LINUX platforms already in the works, a PS4/Vita version is planned if stretch goals are met – all the more reason to get in on the crowdfunding phase. There is also a Steam Greenlight page. (http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=684930738) UPDATE: The game has been “Greenlit” on Steam!

Striving to bring the best in a variety of media types to this blog, when I ran across, DEMONIACA, I was blown away by the gall and balls of this indie platformer to mix the various of themes of horror, splatterpunk, dark fantasy, magic, and martial arts action, and then up the ante by giving the players the option to go adult.

Many games (both indie and commercial) often play host to adult themes including mature relationships between characters, risque bars, third-party skins/mods and a bevy of other titilating concepts, but very few game creators themselves offer “standard” and “adult” versions of the game. But that is what developer Fabio Consorti is offering. It’s not hidden in the menu, it’s not a secret level, it’s not alluded to blog entries, it’s offered as one the Kickstarter options separate from the standard version.

As a sexploitation author myself, I personally enjoy titles that feature more mature content, yet remain true to gaming (like the classic Duke Nukem). I don’t need “sex conquest” titles, I just want a little shake-ass, nudie bar, and the occasional bedroom scene in games (and other media as well). With the vibrant rise of game character fan art pornography, that I am not the only one. As an adult “pixel art action platformer,” DEMONIACA promises to deliver this, as well as further open the door for other titles that strive to be more than just Fist Action Providers.

And so, in an effort to gain more insight into this future indie gem (as well as an explanation into an oddly interesting Pinned Tweet on Fabio’s Twitter page), I reached out to Fabio Consorti (a.k.a. “AKI”, digital artist and game developer):

SEXPLORATION FICTION: Can you give readers a quick rundown who you are and where you’re from?

AKI: I’m AKI, a concept artist. My style has been influenced by several artistic elements such as games, movies and architecture. Manga had a major role in my artistic training. I am a big fan of the genre, in fact, I started my career illustrating manga. Moreover, being a gamer for over 20 years has kept my mind open, allowing me to think outside the box. I’ve learned a lot from games, and during all these years they have become an essential part of my creative process. I’ve previously worked at other games, but now I’ve decided to create my own first ambitious project to express my concept without any restrictions, and this is Demoniaca.

SEXFIC: Your page (Akipage.com) is a collection of digital art (concept, pixel, gif and more); tell us about your work in general.

AKI: Art is a dynamic concept, something that changes constantly over time and often leads to unexpected results: the best way to approach art is to evolve with it, experimenting continuously something new. Concept Art let me draw up and evolve my ideas quickly, and that’s a fundamental process in the development of a video game. Concerning my works, I love Cyberpunk and often my creations take that direction. Masterpieces in the Sci-Fi genre, like ‘Blade Runner’, helped me out to develop my personal vision of the future.

SEXFIC: What inspired you to start work on DEMONIACA? Was it other games? Other mature media?

AKI: From an early age, I’ve always been attractied to videogames, and one of my dreams was to create one. For many years, I’ve also cultivated an interest in manga, drawing and cinema. Recently, I’ve committed myself to putting together all my acquired knowledge and focusing it on a concrete project. Thus, supported by my brave friends, DEMONIACA was born.

Demoniaca comes from personal influences: manga have affected the style of the game, my passion for retrogaming led me to use pixelart, and my love for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, from which the background of the game is derived, has been a big influence. Overall, this has been a very challenging title but we are putting our hearts and souls into it. Thus considering that Demoniaca combines manga and horror, adult content fits it well, in my opinion, giving players a more rounded experience.

AKI: One of the frequent criticisms we receive is our lack of gamemaking credentials. Despite our various collected experiences in game development, our team is new, and DEMONIACA is a truly ambitious project. Thus this creates some sketicism among potential funders, as well as media.

Another significant criticism is that we are using spicy content to veil deficiencies on other aspects of the game. Of course the game is still in pre-alpha stage and there’s a lot of work to do, but in my opinion the concept shows much more than just sexual content; fortunately, many our supporters believe the same. Nowadays it is much safer for an indie team to bet on minimal, stylish, and deeply ambient games

SEXFIC: Why create an adult-themed version of this title? A platformer of this caliber and genre is one that gamers are generally attracted to, and thus, a “standard” title would be enough?

AKI: We believe that in a horror game, features like nudity and violence are fundamental ingredients. They also occur frequently in manga, which has heavily influenced our concept! The game concept proposes not only “sexy scenes” but unrestricted use of violence and gore. We are indie developers and releasing an uncensored “director’s cut” version highlights our willingness to keep our freedom of expression.

SEXFIC: Have you worked on any other adult titles?

AKI: No, this is my first challenge, but I going to tackle it head on.

SEXFIC: Does the growing adult title genre interest you?

AKI: I think that this kind of content can be an added value to games. As I said, the quality of a game should be in foreground, but if the adult content is well contextualized and aimed to enrich a good story, it is welcome. In regard of characters, creators should take care to create personalities first.

SEXFIC: What kinds of games do you personally like to play? Are there any adult titles on the market right now that have caught your interest?

AKI: I like retro games, mostly platformer, as well as modern games. I’m not very fond of last generation games though, where titles are mostly built around the unique idea to increase sales volume. My appreciation goes beyond the adult content in itself. Many games contain spicy content with well-orchestrated game background, sometimes it’s only a feature that ends in itself, and in such cases rarely catches my attention.

SEXFIC: Is there anything I haven’t covered in my questions that you would like to share with the readers?

AKI: I would like to spend few words about crowdfunding, in particular the weight that people have not only in pledging to the project, but even in sharing and making it visibile. Now hundreds of indie teams with fresh and brilliant ideas are fighting a battle lost in the shadow of other projects highlighted by subtle marketing campaigns. Crowdfunding should really help people with great ideas and small possibilities, and not be manipulated by big software houses camouflaged as small indie makers.

If you come accross an interesting project but you can’t contribute, spreading the word is as equally important.

Finally, thanks for this interview, and for your help to fight our battle!